-... Låta Minnet Ringla Kring...-
May. 9th, 2010 11:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
regndoftI haven't really had anything better to do that translate some tales. It's not really very productive but at least it doesn't make me feel completely useless.
I'm still working my way north from the southernmost parts of Sweden. Some day I'll probably make a post collecting all the sägner, but so far it's just something I do when I feel like it. I'm not really trying to achieve anything; picking one tale from each province is more of a guideline I use than an attempt at some kind of structure.
And difference from before is, that I now use another source for the tales I translate. The old book was borrowed from the library and so this one is a bit more recent: Svenska Folksägner by Bengt af Klintberg. Here the tales are a bit shorter, but there's also greater variation on many different subjects.
The Skipper Settled the Fight - Blekinge
There is a belief that the caretaker of the ship, Kabbelgatt-Nisse, comes aboard with the keel. One time there was such an incident that the tree that the keel was to be made of had two caretakers, and they got into a fight on the shipyard over who’s the ship was going to be. When the skipper saw them fight, he separated them and asked the first one how long he had taken care of the tree. “Since it was as thick as the shaft of a chariot”, he replied. But then the other said, “But I have treated it since it wasn’t thicker than the shaft of a whip”. Then the skipper settled the fight and said that the second one, who had taken care of the tree the longest, was to be the Kabbelgatt – Nisse of the ship.
"Skeppsrå" is a collective name for creatures who are thought to take care of ships. In Mörrum in Blekinge, this supposedly male spirit was called Kabbelgatt-Nisse. Nisse is derived from Nils, a usual Swedish name, and Kabbelgatt is most likely derived from the German word kabelgatt, the part of a ship where ropes and other equipment is stored.
The Priest Rode the Devil to the Preaching Practise – Bohuslän
Now you all know that all priests that were to take the exam should go to Wittenberg and learn their tricks. There was a great wheel there, that went round and round. That they should walk through. And the wheel said “Ten in and nine out, ten in and nine out”. One of them disappeared. But those who came out, they knew things, black arts they call it.
1670 there was a priest in Kristiania in Norway, who had been through the wheel. The parish wasn’t that good, so he wanted to get away from there. So there was a priesthood election in Denmark, but they didn’t inform him in time so he didn’t get the message until the day before. He wouldn’t get there on time. But he called Old Nick there and he transformed into a horse with saddle and all. And quickly they rode.
But the Devil asked him to preach so that people would fall asleep, and those people’s souls would be his. But the priest couldn’t do that, because then he wouldn’t get any votes. He preached so that not one of them fell asleep, and he got the parish. Then he was to go home and called upon his horse. “How’d it go?” the Devil asked. But he didn’t have as much as one.
But when they flew home, the horse floated so low over the water that the priest’s feet got wet. “What do the sailors say in need?” See, he wanted the priest to say “God help!” so that he then would’ve had to throw him off. But the priest he said: “A bit higher and a bit faster, you wicked devil!” And then he flew straight up towards the sky, but lowered himself over Kristiania again.
Think I may have cheated a bit with this one, since this story originally comes from Norway; Kristiania is the old name for Oslo. Over there, the infamous priest is supposed to be Petter Dass, who even has his own Wiki page in English, whoo.
I have personally always been fascinated with folk tales where the line between the norms of society is blurred; supposedly good people like priests behave badly, and supposedly wicked creatures like trolls are more virtuous than humans. It shows a more colourful image of people's morality that is usually assumed to be very black and white under the influence of the church in the past. Finding a story where someone doesn't just condemn one or two priests for practising black magic, but says that all of those who take the priesthood exam in Wittenberg LEARN it, was rather interesting.
The Straw - Västergötland
There was a fortune-teller that visited a farm. They had a boy there, and she looked at him, and said: “Such a sweet boy, but he will kill a man”.
After that they were always afraid, but the boy grew up to be very peaceful. But one time there was someone who tried to attack him, and no matter how he defended himself he couldn’t fend him off. Then somebody told him, “Take a straw and strike him with it.” That he did, and the other man fell down dead.
See, it couldn’t have ended any other way, he was supposed to kill someone.
I'm still working my way north from the southernmost parts of Sweden. Some day I'll probably make a post collecting all the sägner, but so far it's just something I do when I feel like it. I'm not really trying to achieve anything; picking one tale from each province is more of a guideline I use than an attempt at some kind of structure.
And difference from before is, that I now use another source for the tales I translate. The old book was borrowed from the library and so this one is a bit more recent: Svenska Folksägner by Bengt af Klintberg. Here the tales are a bit shorter, but there's also greater variation on many different subjects.
The Skipper Settled the Fight - Blekinge
There is a belief that the caretaker of the ship, Kabbelgatt-Nisse, comes aboard with the keel. One time there was such an incident that the tree that the keel was to be made of had two caretakers, and they got into a fight on the shipyard over who’s the ship was going to be. When the skipper saw them fight, he separated them and asked the first one how long he had taken care of the tree. “Since it was as thick as the shaft of a chariot”, he replied. But then the other said, “But I have treated it since it wasn’t thicker than the shaft of a whip”. Then the skipper settled the fight and said that the second one, who had taken care of the tree the longest, was to be the Kabbelgatt – Nisse of the ship.
"Skeppsrå" is a collective name for creatures who are thought to take care of ships. In Mörrum in Blekinge, this supposedly male spirit was called Kabbelgatt-Nisse. Nisse is derived from Nils, a usual Swedish name, and Kabbelgatt is most likely derived from the German word kabelgatt, the part of a ship where ropes and other equipment is stored.
The Priest Rode the Devil to the Preaching Practise – Bohuslän
Now you all know that all priests that were to take the exam should go to Wittenberg and learn their tricks. There was a great wheel there, that went round and round. That they should walk through. And the wheel said “Ten in and nine out, ten in and nine out”. One of them disappeared. But those who came out, they knew things, black arts they call it.
1670 there was a priest in Kristiania in Norway, who had been through the wheel. The parish wasn’t that good, so he wanted to get away from there. So there was a priesthood election in Denmark, but they didn’t inform him in time so he didn’t get the message until the day before. He wouldn’t get there on time. But he called Old Nick there and he transformed into a horse with saddle and all. And quickly they rode.
But the Devil asked him to preach so that people would fall asleep, and those people’s souls would be his. But the priest couldn’t do that, because then he wouldn’t get any votes. He preached so that not one of them fell asleep, and he got the parish. Then he was to go home and called upon his horse. “How’d it go?” the Devil asked. But he didn’t have as much as one.
But when they flew home, the horse floated so low over the water that the priest’s feet got wet. “What do the sailors say in need?” See, he wanted the priest to say “God help!” so that he then would’ve had to throw him off. But the priest he said: “A bit higher and a bit faster, you wicked devil!” And then he flew straight up towards the sky, but lowered himself over Kristiania again.
Think I may have cheated a bit with this one, since this story originally comes from Norway; Kristiania is the old name for Oslo. Over there, the infamous priest is supposed to be Petter Dass, who even has his own Wiki page in English, whoo.
I have personally always been fascinated with folk tales where the line between the norms of society is blurred; supposedly good people like priests behave badly, and supposedly wicked creatures like trolls are more virtuous than humans. It shows a more colourful image of people's morality that is usually assumed to be very black and white under the influence of the church in the past. Finding a story where someone doesn't just condemn one or two priests for practising black magic, but says that all of those who take the priesthood exam in Wittenberg LEARN it, was rather interesting.
The Straw - Västergötland
There was a fortune-teller that visited a farm. They had a boy there, and she looked at him, and said: “Such a sweet boy, but he will kill a man”.
After that they were always afraid, but the boy grew up to be very peaceful. But one time there was someone who tried to attack him, and no matter how he defended himself he couldn’t fend him off. Then somebody told him, “Take a straw and strike him with it.” That he did, and the other man fell down dead.
See, it couldn’t have ended any other way, he was supposed to kill someone.
